Cover member

ABSTRACT

A cover member to be attached to an electronic device formed into a rectangular parallelepiped-like shape, and including a display section in at least one surface of the rectangular parallelepiped comprises a flat plate-like main cover configured to cover the surface of the electronic device, the surface including the display section formed therein, holding parts provided on both side surfaces of the main cover, and configured to hold the electronic device between the holding parts and the main cover; and an upper cover, and a lower cover provided on both end faces of the main cover.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromthe prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-073443, filed Mar. 29,2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cover member to be attached to ahousing of a portable electronic device such as a smartphone, electronicbook or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a transparent cover member of a display section of a portableelectronic device such as a smartphone, electronic book or the like,glass or resin is used. Recently, scratch-resistant chemical temperedglass is used for a cover member. The manufacturing method of a coverglass is publicly known (see Japanese patent publication: Jpn. Pat.Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2013-28510).

In the aforementioned cover member, there has been a problem that acomplicated structure is required, bonding positions are increased,manufacturing processes are increased, and so on in order to firmly fixthe cover member to the housing.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a cover member astructure which is not complicated, and which can be manufactured at lowcost by reducing the bonding process as much as possible when the covermember is attached to the housing, and which can improve the facility ofassembly.

In order to achieve the objective, according to the present invention, acover member to be attached to an electronic device formed into arectangular parallelepiped-like shape, and including a display sectionat least in one surface of the rectangular parallelepiped comprises aflat plate-like main cover configured to cover the surface of theelectronic device, the surface including the display section formedtherein, holding parts provided on both side surfaces of the main cover,and configured to hold the electronic device between the holding partsand the main cover; and an upper cover, and a lower cover provided onboth end faces of the main cover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching acover member according to a first embodiment of the present invention toan electronic device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the attaching process.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the cover member isattached to the electronic device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a modification example of the covermember.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an essential part of the covermember.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another modification example of thecover member.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching acover member according to a second embodiment of the present inventionto an electronic device.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the attaching process.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching acover member according to a third embodiment of the present invention toan electronic device.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the electronic device to which thecover member is attached.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state where a lower cover isremoved.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching acover member 10 according to a first embodiment of the present inventionto an electronic device W, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing theattaching process, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a statewhere the cover member 10 is attached to the electronic device W. Notethat W denotes the electronic device, Wa denotes a display surface onwhich a liquid crystal panel or the like is provided, Wb denotes a sidesurface, and Wc denotes an end face.

The cover member 10 is wholly formed of a glass material, includes amain body part 20 to be attached to the electronic device W, upper cover30, and lower cover 40 which are to be attached to an upper end, andlower end of the main body part 20, respectively, and the main body part20, upper cover 30, and lower cover 40 are integrated by means of anadhesive (see FIG. 3).

The main body part 20 includes a main cover 21 opposed to the displaysurface Wa, a pair of side covers 22 formed integral with the main cover21, and opposed to the side surfaces Wb, and turned-up parts 23 each ofwhich is folded back from the side cover 22 toward the backside of thedisplay surface Wa. It should be noted that a holding part is formedbetween the side cover 22 and turned-up part 23.

The cover member 10 configured in this manner is attached to theelectronic device W in the following manner. First, the upper cover 30is attached to the electronic device W. Next, the cover member 10 isfitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronicdevice W is held between the main cover 21 and turned-up parts 23 of thecover member 10.

Next, an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover 21, thecontact part being brought into contact with the upper cover 30, therebybonding the main cover 21 and upper cover 30 together. Next, the lowercover 40 is positioned on the end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied toa contact part of the main cover 21, the contact part being brought intocontact with the lower cover 40, thereby bonding the main cover 21 andlower cover 40 together. Thereby, the cover member 10 is attached to theelectronic device W.

As described above, according to the cover member 10 associated withthis embodiment, the cover member 10 has no complicated structure, andthere are only two bonding positions required when the cover member 10is assembled, and thus the cover member 10 can be manufactured at lowcost, and the ease of assembly is improved.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cover member 10A according to amodification example of the aforementioned cover member 10, and FIG. 5is an explanatory view showing an essential part of the cover member10A. It should be noted that the same functional parts as FIGS. 1 to 3are denoted by the same reference symbols as those in FIGS. 1 to 3, andtheir detailed descriptions are omitted.

The cover member 10A is wholly formed of a glass material, includes amain body part 50 to be attached to the electronic device W, and uppercover 30, and lower cover 40 which are to be attached to an upper end,and lower end of the main body part 50, respectively, and the main bodypart 50, upper cover 30, and lower cover 40 are integrated by means ofan adhesive.

The main body part 50 includes a main cover 51 opposed to the displaysurface Wa, and a pair of side covers (holding parts) 52 formed integralwith the main cover 51, and opposed to the side surfaces Wb.

As shown in FIG. 5, the side cover 52 is formed into an arc-like shapein cross section, and is formed within a range of 90° to 180° when theposition of the main cover 51 is used as a criterion.

The cover member 10A configured in this manner is attached to theelectronic device W in the following manner. First, the upper cover 30is attached to the electronic device W. Next, the cover member 10A isfitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronicdevice W is held between the inner side parts of the arc-like parts ofthe side covers 52.

Next, an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover 51, thecontact part being brought into contact with the upper cover 30, therebybonding the main cover 51 and upper cover 30 together. Next, the lowercover 40 is positioned on the end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied toa contact part of the main cover 51, the contact part being brought intocontact with the lower cover 40, thereby bonding the main cover 51 andlower cover 40 together. Thereby, the cover member 10A is attached tothe electronic device W.

In this modification example as well, the same advantage as theaforementioned cover member 10 can be obtained.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a cover member 10B according to amodification example of the aforementioned cover member 10. It should benoted that the same functional parts as FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by thesame reference symbols as those in FIGS. 1 to 3, and their detaileddescriptions are omitted.

The cover member 10B is wholly formed of a glass material, includes amain body part 60 to be attached to the electronic device W, and uppercover 30, and lower cover 40 which are to be attached to an upper end,and lower end of the main body part 60, respectively, and the main bodypart 60, upper cover 30, and lower cover 40 are integrated by means ofan adhesive.

The main body part 60 includes a main cover 61 opposed to the displaysurface Wa, and turned-up parts (holding parts) 62 each of which isformed integral with the main cover 61, and is folded back toward theside surface Wb side. The turned-up part 62 is formed within a range of270° to 315° from the outside when the position of the main cover 61 isused as a criterion.

The cover member 10B configured in this manner is attached to theelectronic device W in the following manner. First, the upper cover 30is attached to the electronic device W. Next, the cover member 10B isfitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronicdevice W is held between the inner side parts of the turned-up parts.

Next, an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover 61, thecontact part being brought into contact with the upper cover 30, therebybonding the main cover 61 and upper cover 30 together. Next, the lowercover 40 is positioned on the end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied toa contact part of the main cover 61, the contact part being brought intocontact with the lower cover 40, thereby bonding the main cover 61 andlower cover 40 together. Thereby, the cover member 10B is attached tothe electronic device W.

In this modification example as well, the same advantage as theaforementioned cover member 10 can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching acover member 10C according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention to an electronic device W, and FIG. 8 is a perspective viewshowing the attaching process.

The cover member 10C is wholly formed of a glass material, includes amain body part 20 to be attached to the electronic device W, upper cover30A, and lower cover 40 which are to be attached to an upper end, andlower end of the main body part 20, respectively, and the main body part20, upper cover 30A, and lower cover 40 are integrated by means of anadhesive (see FIG. 3).

The main body part 20 includes a main cover 21 opposed to the displaysurface Wa, a pair of side covers 22 formed integral with the main cover21, and opposed to the side surfaces Wb, and turned-up parts 23 each ofwhich is folded back from the side cover 22 toward the backside of thedisplay surface Wa. It should be noted that a holding part is formedbetween the side cover 22 and turned-up part 23.

The cover member 10C configured in this manner is attached to theelectronic device W in the following manner. The cover member 10C isfitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronicdevice W is held between the main cover 21 and turned-up parts 23 of thecover member 10C.

Next, the upper cover 30A is positioned on one end face Wc, and anadhesive is applied-to a contact part of the main cover 21, the contactpart being brought into contact with the upper cover 30A, therebybonding the main cover 21 and upper cover 30A together. Next, the lowercover 40 is positioned on the other end face Wc, and an adhesive isapplied to a contact part of the main cover 21, the contact part beingbrought into contact with the lower cover 40, thereby bonding the maincover 21 and lower cover 40 together. Thereby, the cover member 10C isattached to the electronic device W.

As described above, in the cover member 10C according to this embodimentas well, the same advantage as the aforementioned cover member 10 can beobtained.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching acover member 10D according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention to an electronic device W, FIG. 10 is a perspective viewshowing the electronic device W to which the cover member 10D isattached, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state where alower cover 72 is removed.

The cover member 10D is wholly formed of a glass material; includes amain body part 70 to be attached to the electronic device W, upper cover71, and lower cover 72 which are to be attached to an upper end, andlower end of the main body part 70, respectively, and the main body part70, upper cover 71, and lower cover 72 are integrated by means of anadhesive. Mesh holes 71 a used for a speaker provided in the electronicdevice W are provided in the upper cover 71. Further, mesh holes 72 aused for a microphone Wm (see FIG. 11) provided in the electronic deviceW are provided in the lower cover 72.

The main body part 70 includes a main cover 70 a opposed to the displaysurface Wa, and a pair of side covers 70 b formed integral with the maincover 70 a, and opposed to the side surfaces Wb.

The cover member 10D configured in this manner is attached to theelectronic device W in the following manner. That is, the upper cover 71is positioned on one end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to acontact part of the main cover 70 a, the contact part being brought intocontact with the upper cover 71, thereby bonding the main cover 70 a andupper cover 71 together. Next, the lower cover 72 is positioned on theother end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to a contact part of themain cover 70 a, the contact part being brought into contact with thelower cover 72, thereby bonding the main cover 70 a and lower cover 72together. Thereby, the cover member 10D is attached to the electronicdevice W.

As described above, in the cover member 10D according to this embodimentas well, the same advantage as the aforementioned cover member 10 can beobtained.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to theaforementioned embodiments. For example, although in the aforementionedexamples, glass is used as the material for the cover member, temperedglass or plastic may also be used. Further, regarding the couplingbetween the main body part, and upper cover/lower cover, screws or thelike may also be used in addition to an adhesive. Furthermore, a hole orholes to be used for a speaker, microphone, camera, and various types ofswitches may appropriately be provided in the main cover, upper cover,and lower cover of the cover member. The hole part may be in an openedstate or may be covered with a mesh. Furthermore, part of the members (alower cover or the like) may previously be formed integral with theelectronic device. Of course the present invention can be variouslymodified and implemented within the scope of the present inventionwithout deviating from the gist of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cover member to be attached to an electronicdevice formed into a rectangular parallelepiped-like shape, andincluding a display section in at least one surface of the rectangularparallelepiped comprising: a flat plate-like main cover configured tocover the surface of the electronic device, the surface including thedisplay section formed therein; holding parts provided on both sidesurfaces of the main cover, and configured to hold the electronic devicebetween the holding parts and the main cover; and an upper cover, and alower cover provided on both end faces of the main cover.
 2. The covermember according to claim 1, wherein each of the holding parts includesa flat plate-like side cover formed to be opposed to the side surface ofthe electronic device, and a turned-up part formed by folding back partof the side cover toward the backside of the main cover, i.e., towardthe backside of the display section.
 3. The cover member according toclaim 1, wherein each of the holding parts is a side cover formed to beopposed to the side surface of the electronic device, and formed into anarc-like shape in cross section within a range of 90 to 180°.
 4. Thecover member according to claim 1, wherein each of the holding parts isformed to be opposed to the side surface of the electronic device, andis formed within a range of 270° to 315° from the outside when theposition of the main cover is used as a criterion.
 5. A cover member tobe attached to an electronic device formed into a rectangularparallelepiped-like shape, and including a display section in at leastone surface of the rectangular parallelepiped comprising: a flatplate-like main cover configured to cover the surface of the electronicdevice, the surface including the display section formed therein; and anupper cover, and a lower cover which are each formed into a cap-likeshape, are provided on both end faces of the main cover, and are fittedon an upper part, and a lower part of the electronic device,respectively.